Introduction

Descriptions of a particular speech community's linguistic devices are often presented as being clear-cut and static. However, due to the nature of humans being complex, our speech features are dynamic and often intersect with our various identities.

One combination of identities that is becoming increasingly recognized is that between sexual identity and ethnicity. This intersection is especially remarkable in the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning. Though the film is not representative of the data that would be obtained during a linguistic ethnography, it nonetheless provides ample amounts of insight into ballroom culture from which we can analyze their language use. The scope of this information can be expanded to allow analysis of the intersectionality between these two identities. 

This project looks at the language and linguistic features employed by the people featured in the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning by Jennie Livingston. Though Livingston is the director and producer of this film, my focus is placed on the linguistic productions of the performers and interviewees. Primarily, I will argue that the individuals featured in Paris is Burning index their identities as queer (not heterosexual and/ or gender non-conforming), and often ethnically diverse individuals through phonological and pragmatic strategies